The assignee of the present invention manufactures and deploys spacecraft for, inter alia, communications and broadcast services. The spacecraft include antenna systems to transmit and receive RF signals. An antenna system may typically include a reflector illuminated by a feed array of radiating elements, each radiating element coupled with one or more waveguides.
The waveguides are conventionally made of extruded metal making up walls of hollow, tube-like structures, having a rectangular, square or circular cross section, for example. A length of waveguide may include a flange at one or both ends for mating to a second waveguide or other RF component. Interfaces with bracketry or other structural components that secure the waveguides to spacecraft structural features may also be provided.
Improved techniques that reduce the design, fabrication and integration costs of waveguides, while reducing the mass of an arrangement of waveguides, are desirable.